Scouts rescued from southern Utah slot canyon

CAPITOL REEF NATIONAL PARK, Utah – A group of scouts was rescued from a slot canyon on Sunday.

Wayne County Deputy Craig Brown said Sunday that a group of six Boy Scouts and three adult leaders from Manti were hiking in a slot canyon in Capitol on Saturday when one of the leaders became exhausted. The group decided to split up, leaving three scouts and two leaders behind.

At around 1 a.m., Wayne County received a call from the other scouts at around 1 a.m. The group that decided to hike out made it out of the canyon at around 1:45 a.m.

Brown says the Wayne County Search and Rescue team left on Sunday morning to rescue the five remaining hikers.

Rescuers were able to attach a rope and harness to the scouts and pull them out of the canyon using a helicopter from the Utah Dept. of Public Safety. They were flown to safety at around 12:30 p.m.

Brown says that the stranded group were able to start a fire and keep warm during the night and there were no serious injuries.